Home / Health / Iowa Loses Third Birth Center Amid Care Shortage
Iowa Loses Third Birth Center Amid Care Shortage
10 Jul
Summary
- CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs will cease labor and delivery services.
- This closure adds to Iowa's existing OB/GYN care shortage.
- Services will move to Omaha, while local prenatal care continues.
CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs will end its labor and delivery services later this summer, specifically after August 31. This decision further intensifies Iowa's critical shortage of OB/GYN care and maternal health services.
The health care center cited significant challenges in maintaining provider availability and specialized clinical support for these services. Consequently, labor and delivery along with Level II NICU services will transition to CHI Health birth centers located across the Missouri River in Omaha.
This closure is the third of its kind in Iowa this year, following similar announcements from facilities in Fort Madison and Clinton. The state faces a growing maternal health care desert, with projections indicating a substantial percentage of counties may lack an obstetric facility by 2025.
While services are relocating, CHI Health Clinic will maintain prenatal and women's health services locally in Council Bluffs. Affected patients needing labor and delivery will be referred to the Omaha birth centers, approximately 15 minutes away.
